Musical wind instrument



Oct. 3l, 1933.

F. KULL MUSICAL WIND INSTRUMENT Filed NOV. l2 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l n x muli Oct. 3l, 1933. F. KULL MUSICAL WIND INSTRUMENT Filed Nov. 12, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet .2

Patented". Oct. i 31', 1933 .UNITED STATI-1s' PArsrrrv OFFICE MUSICAL WIND INSTRUMENT Fred Kuli, Elkhorn, Wis,

Application November 12, 1,932

Serial No. 642,355

The presentinvention 'relates to musical wind instruments and has particular reference to improvements in the valve structure thereof.

sical wind instrument having an increased po- ,tentiality for rapid,` easy and good yexecution of musical notes.

A further object is to provide an instrument of the type Vdescribed which is economical in manufacture. Y

These and other objects will become apparent from a consideration of the following illustrative and explanative description and by reference to the accompanying drawings, in 'which Fig.v 1 is a plan View of the windpipes and valve structure of a musical wind instrument of the -so-called bass type constructed in accordance With my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the instrument shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional View taken along line 3 3 of Fig. 2; i

Fig. 4 is-a detailed view of the valve structure of the instrument shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 vis a sectional View o one of the valves taken along line 5 5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view taken along line 6--6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. is a `view of a modified form of a valve piston; v

artist, and a VvalveI mechanism by which thev path of flow of the sound Waves through the instrument may be selectively controlled, whereby to vary the distance of travel of said sound Waves. The number of valves may Vary, depending upon the particular type of instrument, but will Yusually be one, two, three, four or ve in number. The valves of most band instruments are the :piston type in which the windpipes ofthe horn are connected to `an outer casing in'which a piston `is reciprocably mounted, the piston Abe'- ing provided with Lchannels by which the sound waves are transferred, from one windpipe to another. By ,changing the distance of travel of the sound waves Ipassing through the horn the primary pitch ,of the instrument may be varied l to .obtain .different tones.-

In the instruments known heretofore it has been customary to provide passages through the vali/.C `Structnre that are, in the main, circular in cross section and `of the same size as the bore G 4of the windpipes. Thus, the casing and piston ports con-form in size and shape cross section.- alliT 1.2.0 the size and Shape of the windpipes. However, there are usually three separate pas- ,sagesy through the pistons in different directions,

and at ,the points -Where these passages cross over or under one another, .it is common practice to constrict them so as to get these passages vcloser together andY thereby shorten vthe free blowing and tone quality resulting therefrom, is justified solely on the grounds of eX- u pediency, since Ait vevades the llonger stroke that otherwise would `be ,required to ,register the desired ports to connect "Windpipes necessary lto producesome notes, vand which would limit thek luse of the instrument and impede its facile and rapid operation, and Yalso saves the cost of performing the hard task of enlarging the cross 'sectional area lof these passages at Vthe said points so as `to vmaintain preferable uniformity o f crosssectional area therein throughout. This objectionable long stroke in musical wind instruments ofthe lvali/fe type hasconfrcnted the art since its inception but heretofore no satisfactory solution .has 2been presented.

It `has .been suggested to divide the windpipes into two `circular ysections and to multiply the number of ports or ,channels Ain the valve piston correspondingly, the branches of the windpipe having a cross sectional area equal to the cross rsectional area of the pipe, whereby the stroke of the piston is vvreduced in length the difference vbetweenthe kdiameter of the windpipe and the diameter of the branches This structure is vobjectionable for several reasons, including its complexity and .the .fact that the vsound Waves are subjected .to `valternate breaking up and ,Com-

mingling.

In accordance with my invention, Vthe Openings .of the passages for .the sound Vwaves :in vthe piston valve rare `increased ,in length transversely o1' the direction of travel of the piston valve, thereby departing from a cylindrical bore construction.

In the drawings, the main section of windpipe to which the mouthpiece is attached is represented by numeral 1. This pipe communicates with the opening 2 of the valve casing 3 and the passage 4 of the piston 5. The opening 2 in the casing or the valve structure is increased in length transversely of the direction of travel of the piston 5, while preserving the required cross sectional area to suitably conform to the cross sectional area of the windpipe. The pipe 1 is integrally connected by soldering, brazing, welding or the like, to the casing 3 about the opening 2. To obtain this connection, it is necessary to distort the end of the pipe 1 from its cylindrical bore shape and to make it conform in shape and size to the shape and size of the opening in the casing.

The piston 5 is ordinarily hollow to afford preferable lightness, and the passage 4 is formed by cutting out a suitable opening in the piston and inserting and securing thereto a lining 6. This lining is preferably se fashioned that the passage of air and soundwaves therethrough isles tree es possible and se niet the extent of the cross sectional area of said air passage throughout its length closely corresponds at all Points to that o! the cross sectional area of the bore o! the instrument. In the modication 1A111 Fig. 5, the metal of the piston 5 divi sthe passage 4 along its central portion as at` 7, the openings on each side o! this portion acting to reverse the direction of the sound waves. 'I'he sound waves travel from the windpipe 1 through the passage 4 and out the auxiliiry pipe 8 through an opening 9 similar to the opening 2. The auxiliary pipe 8 directs the sound waves through an opening 10 and the valve casing 11, a similar passage 4 being provided in the piston of casing 11, whereby the sound waves emerge through an opening 12 and are transferred by a second auxiliary pipe 13 through an opening 14 in valve casing 15. The latter casing is also provided with a passage 4 in its piston formed by a member 6 in the mannor described heretofore with respect to the rst valve of the series, whereby the sound waves emerge through an opening 16 of the valve casing and are transferred to the atmosphere through a horn pipe 17.

The pistons 5 of the valve casings 3, 11 and 15 rest upon compressed springs 18 mounted in the bottom of the valve casings. These springs normally keep the piston 5 in raised position, as shown in Fig. 5. I'hese springs may also be mounted above the piston.

Connected to the openings 20 and 21 of the valve casing 3 is a secondary windpipe 22 of medium length. A short secondary pipe 23 is connected in a similar manner to openings 24 and 25 of the valve casing 11. Likewise, a secondsry windpipe 26, which is longer than the pipes 22 and 23, is connected to the openings and 28 of the valve casing 15. The secondary windpipe 22 may be placed in the path of travel of the sound waves by depressing the corresponding plunger 29 of the piston 5, whereby the "passage 4 of the piston which is mounted incasing 3 is pressed below the opening 2. 'I'he opening 2 will then communicate with the lower porto! the passage 30 which is similar to passage 4 and positioned thereabove. The passage 3W reverses the direction of the sound waves in the manner described with respect to the passage 4 and when in communication with the Windpipe 1 strikes the sound waves out of the opening 20 in casing 3 and through the secondary pipe 22. 'I'he sound Waves pass from the secondary pipe 22 through opening 21 of the casing 3 and are then transferred through the opening 9, as described heretofore. The secondary windpipes 23 and 26 may be connected in series with the air passage through the instrument in a similar manner by depression of the plungers 29 of the valve pistons in casings 11 and 15, respectively.

In travelling through the windpipes and the valve structure of the instrument, the sound waves are alternatively passed through the cylindrical bore windpipes and thc oval or flattened openings of the valve structure. The openings of the valve structure may vary considerably in shape depending upon the extent to which it is desired to shorten the stroke of the plunger 29. By employing openings in the valve structure which are lengthened transversely of the direction of travel of the plunger 29 the stroke of the plunger will still depend upon the Width of the opening in the valve structure in a direction parallel to the direction of travel of the reciprocating plunger. It will be seen from Fig. 5 that the plunger 29 travels from a position in which the passage 4 communicates with pipes 2 and 8 to a position in which said passage communicates with pipes 8 and 22, a distance equal to the width of the openings plus the width ot the portion 7 or the distance apart of adjacent openings. By substantially increasing the transverse width of the openings in the valve casings and the pistons and by decreasing the Width of said openings along the longitudinal path of travel of the piston the length of the piston stroke is made materially less than in instruments known heretofore in which circular openings are employed.

It is preferred that the openings, or ports, in the valve mechanism, the passages through the valve pistons and the ends of the windpipes in so far as they depart from the shape, cross sectionally, of the windpipes in order to t the openings in the valve casings, be of such cross sectional area, substantially that of the bore of the instrument, as to prevent material contraccellent tone that is quite generally superior to y the tone produced by instruments with the customary valves having three more or less devious and constricted passages through the pistons, and to the tone produced by instruments with windpipes that are forked at the cylinders and -i position. Moreover, my invention admits of increasing the bore of instruments ordinarily limited by the length of practical stroke. It also admits of a simplified construction and reduced cost of production.

In the improved piston shown in Fig. 7, the pairs of openings are not spaced by the member 7 but are made integral.

This structure is considerably more simple than the piston shown in Fig. 5 and further increases the eficiency of the valve operation. In raised position, the passage 4 directs the sound waves from windpipe 1 into the auxiliary pipe 3, regardless of the elimination of the element 7, In depressed position, the passage 30 transfers the sound waves from the windpipe 1 through the secondary windpipe 22 and the passage 4 transfers the sound waves from the secondary windpipe 22 into the adjacent valve. This improved valve piston may be used in the Valve casings shown in Fig. 4. While the total length of the opening 30 is greater than the circular dimensions of the windpipe 1, this total length acts in a dual capacity to receive the sound waves into the piston and to transfer the same through the second windpipe, the separated windpipes acting in the same manner as would a partition between the openings in the piston.

In Fig. 8 is shown another valve piston in which the passages 32, 33 and 34 pass transversely through the body of the valve piston. This type of valve is for use in connection with instruments in which it is desired that the various connecting windpipes be on different sides of the valve structure. That is, one portion of the windpipes may communicate with the valves on one side and another portion of the windpipes may communicate with the opposite side of the valve structure. The openings 32, 33 and 34 are of greater dimension in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the Valve piston than in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the piston. While the passages may take any desired shape through the body of the piston, while adhering closely in their cross sectional area to the cross sectional area of the bore of the instrument, it is preferable that they be of somewhat uniform cross section, whereby the sound waves are not distorted in such a manner as to affect the quality of the tone obtainable from the instrument.

In the valve structure vshown in Fig. 4, le four openings in the valve casing are in longitudinally spaced relation along a common axis. The resulting instrument is economical in manufacture and presents a more desirable appearance than in the case of an instrument wherev the openings in the valve casing are on diierent vention is susceptible of embodiment informs` other than herein specifically described and all such modifications as come within the spirit of my invention are intended to be included in the appended claims. v

I claim:

1. A musical wind instrument, comprising a valve casing, a reciprocable piston in said casing, said casing having four openings arranged along the direction of reciprocation of said piston, said openings being longer in a direction transverse to the direction of reciprocation of said piston than in a direction parallel thereto, a windpipe connected to one of said penings, an auxiliary windpipe connected to another of said openings, and a secondary windpipe having one end connected to each of the remaining two of said openings, said piston having two separated passages of suitable cross sectional contour to admit of a cross sectional area uniformly substantially equal throughout to the cross sectional area of a casing opening and with piston passage openings to register with the openings in said casings, and operable to connect said auxiliary windpipe with said irst mentioned windpipe in one position and to connect said secondary windpipe with said first mentioned windpipe in another position.

2. A musical wind instrument, comprising a valve casing having four openings arranged in spaced longitudinal relation along a common axis, and a piston reciprocably mounted in said casing, the openings in said casing being longer in a direction transverse to the drection of reer the upper of said passages being co-extensive with the upper two of the openings in said casing, and the lower of said passages being coextensive with the lower two of the openings in said casing.

3. A musical wind instrument, comprising a valve casing having four openings arranged in spaced longitudinal relation' along a common axis, and a piston reciprocably mounted in said casing, the openings in said casing being longer in a direction transverse tothe direction of reciprocation of said piston than in a direction parallel thereto, said piston vhaving an upper passage formed in the side thereof and being co-extensive with the upper two of the openings in said casing and the lower passage spaced from said upper passage a distance equal to the distance between the two inner of said openings in the valve casing and being co-extensive with the lower two of the openings in said casing.

4. A musicalV wind instrument, comprising a plurality of Valve casings, each having four openings arranged in spaced longitudinal relation, a piston reciprocably mounted in said casing, the openings in said casing being wider in the direction of reciprocation of said piston than in a direction parallel thereto, and said piston having two longitudinally spaced passages adapted to connect the intermediate two openings in said casing in one position and to register with the outer of said openings in another position, a main windpipe communicating with one of said intermediate openings on one of said valve casings7 auxiliary windpipes communcating with the remainder of said intermediate openings on said casings, andsecondary windpipe connecting the outer openings on each of said casings,

FRED KULL. 

